Police were searching for two men in the shootings and investigating whether a seventh shooting outside a Virginia store was part of the same terrifying crime spree.

The sixth victim, a 72-year-old Washington, D.C., pedestrian, was killed by the same weapon used to kill at least three of the Maryland victims, said Special Agent Michael Bouchard of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Fire arms. Forensic testing was still under way in the two other Maryland shootings.

"This brings us to a higher degree of recklessness by this suspect or suspects," Police Chief Charles Moose said.

The ATF also has received a bullet casing from the Friday afternoon shooting of a woman outside a crafts store in Fredericksburg, Va., 55 miles south of Rockville, and will test it, Moose said.

Police were looking for two men in a white van with dark lettering, a description that came from a witness to one of the killings. Police pulled over white vans Friday and plastered orange stickers on the back to show the vehicles had been checked. Moose said investigators were chasing more than 200 leads.

Each Maryland victim was felled by a single bullet, apparently from a high-powered rifle or handgun. Police said evidence indicated the killer was some distance away and used .223-caliber bullets.

The search went on amid a mix of fear and defiance among residents of the economically and culturally di verse slice of the suburban county where the shootings occurred.

All over Montgomery County, people did what they usually do on a Friday, but they moved slowly and quietly, glancing at trees, bushes and rooftops.

Many said they were afraid but wouldn't stop getting groceries, going to work or leaving their children with a baby sitter.

"I had to shop. I need to eat. I can't stay at home all day," said Kira Leonova, who works at a bookstore near one of the slaying scenes. "I have to work and I have a family."

Dexter Evans, 20, scanned the traffic as he waited for a bus to Rockville, and he took a second look at every white truck. "You can't even walk down the street without looking over your shoulder," he said.

Schools opened with extra police patrols and calls poured into 911 dispatchers about suspicious noises.

The five Maryland victims died within five miles of one another during a 16-hour span Wednesday evening and Thursday morning.

All were gunned down in broad daylight in very public places: two at gas stations, one outside a grocery, another outside a post office and the fifth as he mowed the grass at an auto dealership.

"There's still no information to lead us to think our victims are associated," Moose said. "They don't appear to be anyone's enemies, just random targets."

Carin Saez, 27, found herself going back to school Friday to pick up her 12-year-old niece, deciding it was too dangerous.

Saez said she would not let her own children go back to school until the killer was caught.

"I was petrified to even go to the store last night," Saez said. "My kids were scared. They didn't even want to go outside. They're more scared now than on September 11."

Officials at Richard Montgomery High School in Rockville canceled a Friday night pep rally and police were posted at the football game against rival Wooten High. Dani Young, a 17-year-old senior, said: "It kind of ruins the mood of homecoming."

In Bethesda, Mary Patterson said as she leaving home for a hair appointment: "I'm not afraid. After all, I'm 81 years old  my time could be anytime."